Sunday Morning Huddle: Week Seven

Ken Kelly Posted On October 21, 2012

field2 As always, there’s a ton of information out there this morning. We’re not going to waste your time by repeating the news and notes about who’s in or out this week, since that’s really not what you visit us for. We’re also not going to do another article on starts or sits this week – we already have week five’s personalized lineup advice for you as part of the premium content package. Again, there are 100 places you can go for game day reports, so we’re doing something different on Sundays for our premium content subscribers.

The Sunday Morning Huddle goes through each game and states what we’re looking to see from a dynasty perspective. We pick one player from each team who have our eye on and describe why their weekend performance is a key one for them in relation to their dynasty value.

Early Games

Arizona at Minnesota

For the Cardinals, it’s all about John Skelton. With Kevin Kolb on the shelf, it’s time for him to step up once and for all. If he plays poorly, it’s going to be time to start plucking Ryan Lindley from the waiver wires.

Percy Harvin has been a fantasy point scoring machine all season for the Vikings and his dynasty league owners. The Cardinals have an imposing defense, but Harvin can’t be stopped right now. Another few solid outings and he’s going to start to merit consideration in the first round of start-up drafts next year.

Dallas at Carolina

With DeMarco Murray hurt (again), Felix Jones is going to get a serious chance to reclaim his lost dynasty league value. He looked solid last week and could use another good outing to get back on the dynasty league radar. It’s a huge opportunity for Jones.

Lost in the mess in Carolina has been the lack of big plays from Steve Smith. It’s hard to believe we’re already in week seven and he’s still yet to score a touchdown this season. The running game of the Panthers has been putrid, Cam Newton has struggled and the Panthers as a team have looked less than stellar. You could pick a half dozen underachieving players, but Smith has our attention at the moment.

New Orleans at Tampa Bay

Over his last two games, Marques Colston has 18 catches for 284 yards and four touchdowns. With Jimmy Graham out this week, the Saints are going to need another huge effort from Colston, who has suddenly re-emerged as a viable WR1. Can he keep it up?

For the Bucs, what’s gotten into Mike Williams lately? After a very disappointing Sophomore campaign, Williams is on pace for 1,062 yards and nine touchdowns this year. His catch total is down, but his yards per catch is up to 22.1, which ranks him number one in the league for players with at least 15 catches on the season.

Green Bay at St. Louis

Lost in the madness that seems to be the Aaron Rodgers-to-James Jones touchdown bonanza is the play of Alex Green. While his yardage total last week was modest, he was THE running back for the Packers. If that continues this week, it’s going to be big for his owners. If anything, we should get a nice long audition to see just what kind of future he could have, for better or worse.

This is a big day for Sam Bradford. The Rams are 3-3 and this would be a huge signature win for the team if he can pull through and keep up with the Packers on the scoreboard. If the Rams get wiped out and Bradford plays poorly, it’s going to be a step back for him in both reality and fantasy.

Washington at New York Giants

This is yet another huge test for Alfred Morris. The debate about his long term value rages on, but if he can do something against the defensive line of the Giants, it should further solidify his value. He’s seemingly getting better as the season goes along and is averaging nearly 100 yards per game on the road – let’s see if that continues in an extremely hostile environment.

It’s safe to say last season wasn’t a mirage as Victor Cruz has six touchdowns already (he’s scored in three straight games). At what point is it safe to say he’s the receiver to own in New York, not his oft-injured counterpart in Hakeem Nicks?

Baltimore at Houston

How about a shout out to an IDP candidate? It’s going to be very interesting to see just how the Ravens replace Ray Lewis and players in IDP leagues will be glued to the television and the box score to see just who is the biggest beneficiary if his absence. Will it be Jameel McClain or Dannell Ellerbe?

For the Texans, is it time to put out an APB out on Andre Johnson? The Texans are winning, but lost in the wins has been Arian Foster’s declining yards per carry and the sub-par performance of Johnson. At this point, he’s on pace for less than 1,000 yards and may just have his tenth straight season where he fails to hit ten touchdowns – that’s hardly the performance many dynasty owners were hoping for this year.

Tennessee at Buffalo

I just can’t write any more about CJ2K. It’s exhausting.

For the Bills, let’s focus on the tandem of Fred Jackson and CJ Spiller. As we posted in the Sunday Six Pack this morning, this is going to be a very telling day for this duo. If this is truly going to be a 50/50 time share, it puts a nice little pin in the balloon of those hoping Spiller would emerge as a RB1 this year.

Cleveland at Indianapolis

The Browns are teetering on a lost season already and it’s time Brandon Weeden starting playing at a higher level. They have a first round draft pick invested in him, but if they get a top three pick in the draft, all bets are off.

For the Colts, dynasty owners are looking for a rebound game for Reggie Wayne this week. If he plays well again today, he’ll again be one of the single best mid-season trade candidates for non-contenders. After this week, it’s going to be time for you to determine if you’re in the mix this year. If you’re not and you have Wayne, it’s time to start kicking some tires.

Late Games

New York Jets at New England

The Jets are just maddening to watch since they’re such a Jekyll and Hyde team. There’s no doubt the spotlight is squarely on Shonn Greene this week after he exploded last week for 161 yards and three touchdowns. If you expect anything close to that again or passed on an opportunity to sell high on him this week, shame on you!

With Brandon Bolden out this week, it’s a big day for Stevan Ridley to reclaim his perch as the top dog in the New England backfield and attempt to avoid any type of serious time share with the aforementioned Bolden. There’s only one stat you need to be concerned about with Ridley today – fumbles.

Jacksonville at Oakland

For the Jaguars, this should be a good day for Cecil Shorts to show what he can do as he’s replaced Mike Thomas as a starter for the Jags this week. Yes, it’s that bad.

Guess how many games Darren McFadden has averaged more than 2.6 yards per carry this year? If you said “one,” you were right. His owners surely hope he makes it two today. If not, we have serious trouble.

Sunday Night Football

Pittsburgh at Cincinnati

For the Steelers, this is a big day for Jonathan Dwyer. With Rashard Mendenhall and Isaac Redman both out, it’s time for Dwyer to showcase his talent on a National stage. In addition, it would be nice to see a good dose of Baron Batch, who’s looked pretty good in limited work.

If you ever wanted to make a play for AJ Green, you have about 12 hours before the world finds out just how good he really is.

Monday Night Football

Detroit at Chicago

The owners of Matt Stafford expected much, much more than the four touchdowns and five interceptions he’s produced so far this season. It’s a huge task to expect him to break out of his early season funk in Chicago, but with Seattle up next, things aren’t going to get any easier.

Very quietly, Brandon Marshall is on pace for nearly 1,600 receiving yards and 112 receptions. Whenever you use the words “quietly” and “Brandon Marshall” in the same sentence, it’s positive. When it includes 1,600 yards, it’s fantastic. If you own him right now, you just need to cross your fingers that nothing blows up in your face. With the enigmatic personalities of Marshall and Jay Cutler, you just never know.

Have a great week of action!

Author
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Ken Kelly

Co-Founder at DynastyLeagueFootball

Ken is a corporate trainer by day an a tireless editor of dynasty content by night. His passion for the World Champion Seattle Seahawks is second only to his love of fantasy football and the dynasty format.

Ken is on Twitter at DLF_KenK